Excerpt BFP: African Features

         Gentle,
         Cool as the breeze
         Who seizes
         The core,
         the mantle,
         and the crust.

         Bold.
         As a bone plucked well,
         Let me tell

         Of round
         brown eyes
         shapely thighs,
         cheeks that blush
         brighter than a cig's butt,
         and tongue
         so long, it nearly brought me

         To the next episode.

         The drinks were done.
         We were alone;
         we smiled a mild
         then left it at that.

         Warm as it may sound,
         It didn't last a day.

         Less than twenty-four
         More than a year.

         Those features, like short stories
         do not last
         but are first
         because they teach us:
                  Only the middle is bound.